Method of forging wheels.



A. R. HUNT L J. H. GROSE.

METHOD O F FORGING WHEELS.

.Patented May 25, 1915.

miran srarns earner critica.

ZOB B. HUNT AND JAM-ES H. GROSE, OF MUNHALL, PENNSYMVNIA.

iilrmiaon or ronGING WHEnLsl Specication of Letters Patent.'

Patented May 25, i915.

i I Application led August 1, 1911. Serial No. 641,782.

ToaZZ whom it may concern Be it Vknown' that we, AzoR R. HUNT and JAMES' H. Gnosis, both citizens of the United States, and residing at Munhall, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsyl-l vania, have invented certain new and use* ful Improvements in Methods of Forging Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to the manufacture of forged metal Wheels and more particularly of flanged metal car wheels. Heretofore, in forging such wheels, the blanks from which the wheels are made have according to some methods been compressed and shaped by 'simultaneously working or dis# placing the metal from both sides inwardly, or, in otherv words, both sides of the wheels have been shaped. at the same time. In forging wheels in this manner, the metal Hows unevenly and owing to the lack of control in the flow, the' metal is frequently so irregularly disposed in expanding or increasing its diameter during the shaping operations as vso to overiill and form a iin or series of iins on one side ofthe axial 'center of the blank with a corresponding. underiilling or lack of material at other points on the periphery of the partly formed blanks. The formation of such fins on the blanks results in making defective wheels and isthe cause of considerable expense in the manufacture of such wheels. -The irregular iiow of the metal also' freqfintly permits the axially central portion of the blanks, in which the Segre` gated portions and poorest quality of the metal is located, to be displaced sidewise to such extent as to eventually be located in the web portion of the finished wheel, another very undesirable feature.

One object of our invention is'to, provide a method of forging wheels having a novel series of steps whereby the flow of the metal in the blanks is regulated and controlled to a much greater extent than has been heretofore found'possible and by the use of which the blanks are compressed uniformly to a practically constant or uniform thickness and the formation of defective wheels thereby very largely overcome and prevented.

In forging wheels by our improved method, the blank which may be cylindrical or polygonal in cross section and of any desired diameter and thickness, is first reduced in thickness and by this first forging step one side only of the blank 1s shaped or changed in contour. partly shaped blank is then transferred to another set of dies where the web and tread are partly formed. After the first forging operation by means of which a rudimentary hub is formed on one face, the metal forming the central portion of the blank remains undisturbed, that is the thickness of the blank at its center portion after the first forging operation is substantially the thickness of the hub in a finished wheel. It will be noted that because of this many advantages are gained; first the metal in the center of the blank which metal contains the segregated metalloids, pipes or irregularities, forms the final hub of the wheel where the mass of metal is present and is not forced into the web, tread or flange; second, in the punching of the blank for the .purpose of providing the axle opening much of the inferior metal is removed, and, third, it will be seen that the forging action is in the natural lines, that is the flow of the metal is all downward and away from the center or hub. In following this method it has been found that there is absolute uniformity in the product, all portions of the die being completely filled.

The so formed and.

die oflarger diameter; Fig. l shows the completion of the steps as contemplated by this method; Fig. 5 is a view of a blank such as contemplated by us; Fig. 6 is a view of the blank in the form in which it is removed from the die of Fig. 2, and, Fig. 7 is a view of the partly finished wheel in the form in which it is' removed from the dies of Fig. 4.

In carrying out our methodwe prefer to employ any well known forging devices. In the first machine we provide an upper die 10 having a flat forging face l1. The lower die 12 is of comparatively small diameter with relationto the diameter of a finished Wheel and contains a concentric recess 13 within which the metal forming the hub of a plane surface.

being downward a ythe opening in the `mon centerl ofthe dies andthe blan/k.

'14: to flow evenly through all the spaces within the lower partof the die opening ythus leaving the partly formed blank 15 with a rudimentary hub 16 and the outlines of the face ofy the wheel formed on one side thereof. The upper face 17 is substantially Referring to Fig. 3 ,it will be` seen that a new set of dies has been substituted. The upper die118 is provided with aconcentric proJection 19 which is adapted contact thelane surface 17 of the blanliland outline `the remainder of the hub. The opening in the lower die 20 is ,of greater diameter than die 12. This die has a concentric 'projection 21 corresponding to the projection 19 on the die 18. The sides 22 of the die opening areiared and, at 23, provision is made for the forming of a rudimentary flange. ,In Fig. 4 the the metal in the blank Opening,

dies 18 and/2O have caused vrZ145 to .lill the die the forging action as will be seen nd away from the conllt will be seen that a partly formed/wheel 24 is produced land thatthe metal forming the hub has not beendisturbed from lthe center of the wheel. The hub of'ytlie'y partly iin'- ishedwheel is of the same/jfiiclmess as the metal at the center ofthe/blank as formed the diesof Figr2." It willbe understood that the partly formed wheel 24 is afterward further operated upon to produce a finished product but as such steps do not concern the present inventionwe shall not describe nor illustrate the same. y

The advantages of our invention 4arise from the manner of displacing the metal uniformly in forming the hub and web portions of the wheel at the beginning of the wheel forging operations. By first shaping one face of the blank to'the contour desired for the hub and web portions of the wheel,

and then, in a second or later` forging step, forming the opposite face of the blank to the desired contour for the hub and web portion of the Wheel, the metal is caused to flow an'd prevented, while the metal in the axial center of the unforged blanks remains in the same relative location in the forged wheel or isi removed in the operation of punching the hub to form the axle eye of' the wheel. K

lModifications in the formand arrangement of the forging dies and in the number of forging steps employed may be made without departing from our invention' as defined in the claim.

Wev claim In the manufacture of forged wheels the steps consisting in subjecting a cylindrical blank having substantially iat plane end surfaces to a series of successive forging steps to lessen the thickness and increase the diameter of the. blank, shaping one end surface of the blank without shaping the opposite end surface in the rst of the series of steps, and then further `reducing the thickness and increasing the diameter and shaping the opposite' end surface of the blank in a later step and then subjecting the blank to further forging steps in shaping the rim or periphery of the blank to size and contour.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

AZOR R. HUNT. JAMES'H. GROSE.. Witnesses:

A. A. Conny, Jr., W. J HULL.

equal sidewise flbw of the metal is overcome 

